Azar Sheibani

Azar Sheibani is a Senior Lecturer in Community Development at the School of Social Sciences and Professions, London Metropolitan University. She has been affiliated with the university since 1995, combining academic and research work with a practitioner role in the voluntary and community sector spanning 28 years. She currently serves on advisory committees for Migration Work and Asylum Aid’s Women’s Project.

Teaching and Research:

• Led the Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit (RAGU) since its establishment in 1995.
• Expertise in refugee reception, integration, gender and migration, and transnational communities.
• Secured funding from government departments and the European Union for RAGU and a new MSc course in Community Development, enabling refugee community organization employees to attend free of charge.
• Managed national and transnational partnerships focused on community support and capacity building.
• Acted as an election observer for the OECD in Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan.